App Watch: Crittercism Improves App Customer Service

Apple’s App Store has been profitable for many developers, but a common complaint has been that there is no easy way for developers to communicate directly with customers and provide customer support. When consumers encounter a problem with an app, the only recourse they usually have is to submit a negative review in the App Store, even if the problem is fixable.

Crittercism

A new app tool that debuted Tuesday is hoping to change that. Crittercism, a San Francisco-based start-up, said it is making available a technology that will let developers add customer support to their app in addition to diagnosing crashes. The technology is currently only available broadly for iPad and iPhone apps, though Crittercism is testing a version for devices running on Google’s Android mobile operating system.

Crittercism is part of a growing number of companies who are trying to come up with new support tools that help app developers easily provide functionality to their apps that may not make sense to handle themselves, either because they don’t have the resources or their time is better spent on improving their apps. Flurry, which provides user analytics, was one of the first companies in this category. Others like TestFlight make it easier to beta-test apps, while Urban Airship offers technology that lets apps easily incorporate push notification, in-app purchasing and messaging.

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